Iowa Basketball Bests Maryland Sunday

BOX SCORE

IOWA CITY, Iowa – The situations have come up in Iowa’s pre-game walk-throughs.

Massive lineup, small lineup, something may be in play in a recreation scenario.

So, when Kris Murray and Filip Rebraca have been on the bench with two fouls in Sunday’s recreation towards Maryland at Carver-Hawkeye Area, the five-guard lineup that completed the primary half was prepared.

The Hawkeyes’ 81-67 win over the Terrapins was constructed on the run that lineup — Ahron Ulis, Tony Perkins, Josh Dix, Connor McCaffery and Payton Sandfort — put collectively over the ultimate 5 ½ minutes.

Iowa led 25-19 with Murray and Rebraca, the workforce’s prime two scorers, on the bench. The half ended with the Hawkeyes up 43-31.

“We pushed the ball rather well,” mentioned McCaffery, who, at 6-foot-6, was technically the ‘5’ in that rotation. “We have been possibly a bit extra athletic getting up and down. Simply the velocity — guys flying. They didn’t actually have a put up in there, so there was room to drive.”

“I assumed they actually fought in that stretch,” mentioned Iowa coach Fran McCaffery.

McCaffery mentioned the lineup labored due to the best way Maryland performs.

“We had 5 guards on the market,” he mentioned. “They play 4, usually. So you need to come again to all of the various things they do to defend any person. So it’s good to have guards on the market. The extra guards you have got on the market, the higher you’re towards that stuff.”

Connor McCaffery and Ulis had the primary 10 factors in a 12-2 run that began on the 5:38 mark. Perkins completed the run with a tip-in, and the Hawkeyes led 37-21.

It was an enormous recreation for Perkins, who had a career-high 22 factors on 10-of-13 taking pictures. Perkins had made simply 6-of-28 photographs during the last three video games, however was dominant early on this one, getting 9 of the Hawkeyes’ first 17 factors.

“That was my aim to return in like that right this moment,” Perkins mentioned. “Make strikes, get to the rim, do what I do finest. Hit pull-ups, simply play my recreation, simply not give it some thought.”

“It was a great recreation for Tony,” Fran McCaffery mentioned. “There’s more room for him. He has an aggressive mindset, and that is what you need. In the event that they’re switching, there’s more room. In the event that they’re urgent, there’s more room. And he simply went after it.”

Iowa shot 60 p.c for the sport, 63.6 p.c within the second half to carry off the Terrapins.

“I simply thought their execution within the half-court was actually the distinction,” Maryland coach Kevin Willard mentioned.

The Hawkeyes (12-6 general, 4-3 Massive Ten) completed off their fourth consecutive win behind Murray, who had 17 of his 19 factors within the second half.

Fran McCaffery tried to guard Murray and Rebraca with a zone protection to open the second half, which the Terrapins (11-6, 2-4) exploited for eight factors within the first 83 seconds. However in the long term, McCaffery mentioned, it made a distinction preserving Murray within the recreation the place he might assault.

“I did not need them to really feel hampered,” McCaffery mentioned. “Take into consideration the final three or 4 minutes. We actually went to Kris. You want him then. He simply saved scoring and by no means felt threatened, as a result of we simply would isolate him and he would go rating.”

In an extended Massive Ten season, it’s finest, Connor McCaffery mentioned, to be ready for something.

“We’re not down the stretch but, however we wish to be all clicking on all cylinders as we hit this dwelling stretch,” he mentioned. “And so the extra that we will get on the ground, with totally different lineups performed along with totally different folks, the higher we’ll have the ability to proceed on our win streak, I assume.”